NEW DELHI: Ashish Sharma of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the Hamirpur Assembly bypoll, defeating Dr. Pushpinder Verma of the Congress by 1,571 votes. The by-election was necessitated after Sharma, originally elected as an Independent candidate in the 2022 Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, joined the BJP.
The bypoll saw three candidates vying for the seat: Ashish Sharma (BJP), Dr Pushpinder Verma (INC), and Nand Lal Sharma (IND). Sharma’s victory marks a significant political shift in the region, previously characterized by his strong independent presence.
Hamirpur is a semi-urban constituency in Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district, forming part of the Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency. The seat has a General reservation status and has traditionally seen keen electoral contests.
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In the 2022 Assembly elections, Ashish Sharma, contesting as an Independent, defeated Dr. Pushpinder Verma by a substantial margin of 12,899 votes, securing 47.09% of the total votes polled. However, in the recent bypoll, Sharma’s victory margin reduced significantly, indicating a tighter contest this time around.
The Hamirpur bypoll, held on July 10, 2024, recorded a voter turnout of 67.50%, slightly lower than the 71.81% turnout in the 2022 elections. Despite this, Sharma managed to secure his seat with a total of 27,041 votes against Verma’s 25,470 votes.
The bypoll results also saw Congress candidates winning in Dehra and Nalagarh, highlighting a mixed outcome for the BJP in Himachal Pradesh. Congress candidate Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, won the Dehra seat by a margin of 9,399 votes, while Hardeep Singh Bawa defeated BJP’s KL Thakur in Nalagarh by 8,990 votes.
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The election marks the first time in Himachal Pradesh’s history that a Chief Minister and their spouse, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Kamlesh Thakur, will both serve in the state Assembly. Additionally, for the first time, there will be no Independent MLAs in the Assembly.
BJP MP from Hamirpur and ex-Union minister, Anurag Thakur, had been camping in his constituency in Himachal Pradesh for several days. The opposition INDIA bloc won 10 out of the 13 assembly seats across the Indian states.
The bypoll results underscore the changing political dynamics in Himachal Pradesh. The significant reduction in Sharma’s winning margin could signal a more competitive political environment moving forward. The BJP’s performance, especially with Anurag Thakur’s active campaigning, reflects the party’s efforts to consolidate its position despite the setbacks in Dehra and Nalagarh.